The NBA has opened an investigation into the Philadelphia 76ers regarding the participation of center Joel Embiid, ESPN’s Shams Charania reported Thursday.
It’s unclear what rules the 76ers may have violated, or specifically what the potential investigation would focus on. It’s also unknown the potential consequences if a violation is found.
The report dropped hours before Philadelphia’s season-opening loss to the Milwaukee Bucks. Embiid and his new All-Star teammate, Paul George, were both ruled out before the game. Embiid was ruled out without a specific injury designation for what the team describes as “left knee management.”
George suffered a bone bruise with no structural damage in the preseason. His absence is not expected to be long term. Embiid is returning from a season in which he missed 43 games, most of them with a late-season injury to the meniscus in his left knee that required surgery.
Why didn’t Embiid play Philadelphia’s season opener?
Embiid returned from the injury in time for Philadelphia’s first-round playoff series against the New York Knicks that they lost in six games. He then played for Team USA in Paris during the Summer Olympics. He sat through the preseason with the 76ers citing “left knee management” before missing Philadelphia’s season opener. He does not have an injury designation beyond “knee management.” His status moving forward is murky.
General manager Daryl Morey said recently that he doesn’t anticipate Embiid or George playing in many back-to-back games, if any.
“We’re going to be smart about it,” Morey said, per ESPN in an article published on Oct. 14. “Part of being smart about it is having both Paul and Joel probably not play many back to backs, if any.”
Head coach Nick Nurse was asked Tuesday about the plan to rest Embiid and why Embiid was sitting Wednesday against the Bucks despite not having a specific injury designation.
Nick Nurse said there were no setbacks to Embiid this offseason, and reiterated multiple times most of the same things we’ve heard regarding his health.
Asked him about how we square their messaging with Joel not being ready to start the season, here’s what he said: pic.twitter.com/cH4IldM4nV
— Kyle Neubeck (@KyleNeubeck) October 22, 2024
“I don’t know what to say to you,” Nurse said. “He’s in practice. He’s looking good. He’s progressing. He’s not quite ready yet. …
“I don’t know what else to say to you.”
Nurse was then asked before Wednesday’s for his thoughts on the reported investigation.
“I don’t have any thoughts on it,” Nurse said. “Nobody from our organization has said anything to me about that. As far as the investigation, I don’t really know.”
Nurse also confirmed that Embiid did not re-injure himself. Morey has not addressed media since the report of the potential league investigation.
Are the 76ers violating NBA policy?
The NBA implemented rules in 2023 targeting the load management practice of resting star players when they’re not injured. Teams are subject to fines for various violations of the policy that include prohibiting teams from sitting multiple star players in the same game when they’re not injured and resting star players during nationally televised games. Philadelphia’s game against Milwaukee on Wednesday will be televised nationally on ESPN.
Embiid, a seven-time All-Star and the 2023 NBA MVP, has been plagued by foot and knee injuries throughout his career. He missed the entirety of his first two seasons with injury after being selected third overall by the 76ers out of Kansas in 2014.
Since then, he’s played in 51 games or fewer in four of the eight seasons he’s played. He’s never played more than 68 games in a single season.